Brother, Father, Friend
by ncfan
Summary: Han's life was different in many ways.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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Han wasn't like most jinchūriki. His life, though difficult in many ways, ran a different course from that of the normal jinchūriki. Whether it was better or worse remains a matter of fierce debate.

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Han knew another jinchūriki his entire life. In many ways, Rōshi was like a father to him, and always knew what to say without saying it.

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As a child, Han's only living family did _not_ shun him. His older brother Masaru was his constant friend throughout life, and Han never had to deal with his own flesh and blood looking upon him with hate-filled, fear-quaking eyes.

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Han had a team, and progressed through the ranks at a normal pace for a shinobi. He graduated from the Academy at eight, and was put with a sensei and two other genin his own age. As a genin, Han learned to manipulate steam, learned to handle the Gobi (they never really got along very well; the Gobi wanted to eat him), quarreled with one of his teammates, dealt with an abortive crush on the other, and all-around assisted both of his teammates in driving their sensei mad.

When he hit chunin at ten, he looked up at the Nidaime Tsuchikage and grinned. And was wholesale amazed when, ever so slightly, she smiled back.

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Han had friends growing up. He had Rōshi and Masaru, but he also had Hisano and Jiro, Esumi and his teammates Ryouta and Kosaku. When Han, Masaru, Hisano, Jiro and Esumi were on their lonely vigils in the far north east of Tsuchi no Kuni, near the border of Kaminari no Kuni where soft mist hung perpetually on the land and the only thing they had to look at was a placid sea the gleamed gold in the early morning and evening, Han, who had had received a deck of cards from Rōshi for his tenth birthday several years before, would break it out and soon everyone in the unit knew how to play blackjack.

Those friends, however few, made life with a surly bijū and a jonin council that wanted to bleed him dry in the defense of his village worthwhile.

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When Han succumbed to battle lust, he did it in such a way that the enemy both feared _and_ respected him, and Hisano wasn't the only one in the unit gaining a reputation for being the terror of Kumogakure forces.

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Han was able to have a family of his own. Han met Kuromeru Hatsuna on a mission near a border with the Wilds, the collective term used to denote all lands outside the Five nations and the minor nations. They were married within three months. Within another ten months, their first and only daughter was born.

When Han stared down into the half-open eyes of his daughter, as pale lavender as his own, he knew that his life would never be any better than at that moment.

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When Han left Iwagakure, no one tried to stop him.

Han didn't want to leave Kurotsuchi behind, but after Hatsuna died he felt the need to leave and figure out "the big picture" as Rōshi had done some years before. So he handed over Kurotsuchi to Masaru, and went to the Sandaime's office, requesting that he be allowed to go on a sabbatical of indeterminate length.

The Sandaime, for all his querulousness, was surprisingly reasonable in handling the request. It probably had something to do with the situation with Rōshi, that when Rōshi asked to leave, the discussion devolved into an argument that decimated half the tower and put the Sandaime in the hospital before he agreed to let Rōshi go. Sandaime-sama obviously did not want to repeat that experience.

Han wrote to his family and sent gifts to Kurotsuchi on her birthdays.

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Han was not accosted by assassins or hunter nin while he was traveling on his own. For a nearly seven foot man who wore full armor, he lived in remarkable anonymity while traveling. He spent most of his time observing the world around him and searching for Rōshi, who had dropped off the face of the earth.

While Han was traveling, he ran into Jiraiya. The two were close enough in age to be contemporaries, and it was from Han that Jiraiya got most of his information on bijū seals and jinchūriki.

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Han lived to see middle age.

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Han's life was different from that of many jinchūriki, but it was exactly the same in at least one aspect.

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When he stared into the manic blue eyes of his nephew, Han knew he had been betrayed in the place he had never expected.

I saw the color page in the beginning of Chapter 489, and I realized that Han and Kurotsuchi had the same color eyes.


End file.
